JPSS is the next generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system series of the USA, procured by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) through NASA, with the following major objectives: 1)2)3)4)5)6)

3) The partnership is governed by the NOAA and NASA JPSS Management Control Plan

- The JPSS Program is executed in accordance with NPR 7120.5D (NASA Procedural Requirements) as a loosely-coupled program

4) NASA Categorization for JPSS-1 and JPSS-2

- Mission Category 1

- Risk Class B Mission

- Category 2 Expendable Launch Vehicle

JPSS represents significant technological and scientific advances in environmental monitoring and will help advance environmental, weather, climate, and oceanographic science. JPSS's primary user, NOAA's NWS (National Weather Service), will use the JPSS data in models for medium- and long-term weather forecasting. JPSS will allow scientists and forecasters to monitor and predict weather patterns with increased speed and accuracy and is the key for continuity of long-standing climate measurements, allowing the study of long-term climate trends. JPSS will improve and extend climate measurements for 30 different EDRs (Environmental Data Records) of the atmosphere, land, ocean, climate and space environment. 7)

Some background:

Since the 1960's the United States has operated two separate polar-orbiting environmental satellite programs:

• In 1994, the NPOESS (National Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellite System) program was created (under a Presidential Decision Directive) with the expectation that combining the civil (POES) and military (DMSP) programs would reduce duplication and result in cost savings

• A tri-agency IPO (Integrated Program Office) was formed to manage the program

- NOAA was responsible for overall program management of the converged system and satellite operations

- USAF (United States Air Force) was responsible for acquisition

- NASA responsible for technology insertion.

• Program was to launch NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project) to reduce risk

• The first NPOESS contract awarded in 2002

- Program estimated to cost $7 billion through 2018

- Scope of program included six satellites (three orbits) each hosting up to 13 instruments, and a ground system.

• NPOESS program encountered significant challenges

- Technical challenges in VIIRS sensor development

- Program cost growth

- Schedule delays

• By 2005, the cost had increased to $10 billion and the first launch had to be delayed from 2008 to 2010

• A decision to restructure the program was made in 2006

- Driven by a Nunn-McCurdy breach

- Satellites reduced from six to four (in two orbits) – EUMETSAT would provide mid-morning orbit

- Number of instruments reduced from 13 to nine

• Even after restructure, program continued to encounter issues

- Technical issues continued with VIIRS

- Management challenges with governance structure

- Cost increases – expected to exceed $14 billion

- Further schedule delays. The major challenge of NPOESS was jointly executing the program between three agencies of different size with divergent objectives and different acquisition procedures.

• In 2009, EOP/OSTP (Executive Office of the President/Office of Science and Technology Policy) led a task force to investigate management and acquisition options that would improve NPOESS. An IRT (Independent Review Team) concluded that the current NPOESS program, in the absence of managerial and funding adjustments, has a low probability of success and data continuity is at extreme risk. The Office of Science and Technology, with the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council, as well as representatives from each agency, examined various options to increase the probability of success and reduce the risk to data continuity.

• In February 2010, with the release of the FY2011 President's Budget, OSTP announced the restructure of the NPOESS program – specifically, NOAA and DoD would be responsible for different orbits. 8)9)10)

- Series of DoD Acquisition Decision Memorandums: Continued support to NPP; Close out of the IPO; Transfer of sensors and ground system from DoD to NOAA/NASA; Identified sensor suite on DWSS.

The Administration decision for the restructured JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) will continue the development of critical Earth observing instruments required for improving weather forecasts, climate monitoring, and warning lead times of severe storms. NASA's role in the restructured program will be modeled after the procurement structure of the successful POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellite) and GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) programs, where NASA and NOAA have a long and effective partnership. The partner agencies are committed to maintaining collaborations towards the goal of continuity of Earth observations from space.

Note: Since this transition, the DWSS satellite program has been canceled and replaced with the WFO (Weather Follow On) program. As part of the restructuring of the program, some responsibilities have been shifted to accomplish the environmental and climate observing missions. For JPSS, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has the responsibility for the acquisition for the afternoon orbit satellites, along with the acquisition, system engineering and integration for the Ground System (GS) for the US next-generation of weather and climate satellites. After the start of the JPSS program, the DWSS, which was to be responsible for the early morning orbit satellites, was cancelled due to lack of funding. EUMETSAT (European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) will be relied on for the mid-morning orbit satellites of the MetOp series (Ref. 115).

• The JPSS program successfully completed two key reviews in July 2013 at NASA/GSFC. The JPSS program is continuing on schedule and on budget toward the March 2017 launch of the JPSS-1 polar-orbiting weather satellite. NASA is developing and acquiring the JPSS-1 mission for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). 11)

The restructured Joint Polar Satellite System is planned to provide launch readiness capability in FY 2015 and FY 2018 (with launches of JPSS-1 in 2017 and JPSS-2 in 2022, respectively) in order to minimize any potential loss of continuity of data for the afternoon orbit in the event of an on orbit or launch failure of other components in the system. Final readiness dates will not be baselined until all transition activities are completed.

The United States JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) is the new generation of POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellites) in the early afternoon sun-synchronous orbit. The Joint NOAA/NASA Suomi-NPP (National Polar Partnership ) mission is the first of the JPSS missions. It has achieved nearly four years of successful on-orbit observations and was declared primary satellite for weather in May of 2014. 12)

• JPSS is the next generation of U.S. civil operational polar-orbiting satellites, and includes Suomi NPP

• The JPSS program, including agreements with EUMETSAT, JAXA and DoD.

• NOAA plans and directs the program, while NASA acts as the acquisition agent for flight and elements of the ground system.

The JPSS spacecraft are procured at NASA/GSFC. NASA in turn awarded a contract to BATC (Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation) of Boulder, CO to design and develop the JPSS-1 spacecraft bus, the OMPS (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite) instrument, integrating all instruments, and performing satellite-level testing and launch support. 14)15)

• October 4, 2018: Last month, as satellites fed a steady stream of data into models tracking the paths of Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut, the next in a fleet of satellites designed to monitor weather and climate cleared its CDR (Critical Design Review). 19)

- JPSS-2 (Joint Polar Satellite System-2) will join NOAA-20 (former JPSS-1) in a series of polar-orbiting satellites to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, land and oceans. NASA builds the JPSS series of satellites, and NOAA will operate them.

- It will measure the temperature and moisture of our atmosphere, and the knowledge of that is really what drives the accuracy of our weather forecasts," said Greg Mandt, NOAA director of the Joint Polar Satellite System program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.

- Passing the CDR, a technical review, means that design and analysis of the satellite system, which includes its ground system and flight plan, is complete, and that the project is ready to continue in its next phases: fabrication, assembly, integration and testing.

- The CDR was conducted by a standing review board of 16 members, who are independent of the program and experts in various fields, including electrical and mechanical engineering, weather forecasting and science, ground systems, ground stations, and budgeting and schedule.

- Like its polar-orbiting cousins, JPSS-2 will scan our planet as it orbits from pole to pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. In the process, its onboard instruments will snap pictures and capture data that will inform seven-day weather forecasts and extreme weather events.

- Polar sounders provide roughly 85 percent of the data used in forecast models. But weather is only part of the picture. The spacecraft's instruments will also tell us about wildfires, volcanoes, atmospheric ozone, ice loss and sea surface temperatures.

- "In our ground segment design for JPSS-2, we have shown that we understand what changes are needed, and we are well prepared to go to implementation," said Heather Kilcoyne, the NOAA ground segment project manager for JPSS at NASA Goddard. "It's not enough to just have a satellite up there. Our design covers the changes needed end to end to ensure our products actually get used by forecasters and researchers."

- The newest spacecraft will be nearly identical to its predecessor, NOAA-20. But, Mandt points out, the science the data feeds are always advancing. "Every year, there will be new applications discovered," he said. "Even if the instruments are the same, the use of the data will continue to expand, and we'll find new ways to use it to solve problems."

- JPSS enables forecasters and scientists to monitor and predict weather patterns with greater accuracy and to study long-term climate trends by extending the more than 30-year satellite data record.

- The changes are necessary to launch America's next polar satellite, JPSS-2, in 2021. The project recently completed the critical design review for the work, and compatibility testing between the satellite and ground system will begin in early 2020. Svalbard, Norway, is the location of the northernmost Joint Polar Satellite System Common Ground System station.

- Developed by NASA for NOAA, the JPSS CGS collects and disseminates observations from polar-orbiting weather satellites from the United States, Europe and Japan. The new contract brings the total value to just under $2 billion. In addition to changes to the command and control system and orbital dynamics system that will maneuver the JPSS-2 satellite while in space, the contract also covers upgrades to the system's simulation and cyber security capabilities, as well as expansion of the system's wide area network and security incident response team.

• May 25, 2018: NASA has exercised options under the Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition III (Rapid III)contract for two additional Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) spacecraft to be built for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 21)

- Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, will build NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System JPSS-3 and -4. The contract value is $460 million and the period of performance will extend through 2026. The work will be performed at Orbital ATK's facility in Gilbert, Arizona.

- Orbital, which currently is developing the JPSS-2 spacecraft, will design, develop, fabricate, integrate, test and provide post-delivery support for the third and fourth spacecraft in the series.

• September 5, 2017: NOAA's JPSS-1 satellite arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 1, 2017, to begin preparations for a November launch. 22)

- After its arrival, the JPSS-1 spacecraft was pulled from its shipping container, and is being prepared for encapsulation on top of the rocket that will take it to its polar orbit at an altitude of 824 km above Earth. JPSS-1 is the first in a series of NOAA's four next-generation, polar-orbiting weather satellites.

• March 6, 2017: NASA's Launch Services Program has selected United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) proven Atlas V vehicle to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2) mission, the third in the nation's new generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system—this award resulted from a competitive Launch Service Task Order evaluation under the NASA Launch Services II contract. 23)

- The JPSS-2 mission is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2021 from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This mission will launch aboard an Atlas V 401 vehicle.

• On 15 December 2016, Europe and the US achieved another milestone in the cooperation on meteorological satellite systems when Marc Cohen, EUMETSAT Associate Director for LEO Programs and Harry A. Cikanek III, NOAA Director, Joint Polar Satellite System signed the plan that will implement the JPS (Joint Polar System). 24)

- The Polar System PIP (Program Implementation Plan) encompasses the space and ground segments associated with EUMETSAT's Polar System Second Generation (EPS-SG) and the JPSS ( Joint Polar Satellite System) of NOAA ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). It also regulates the use of assets and operations as well as access to third party mission products such as the Copernicus Earth Observation Program of the EU and the NOAA COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate) missions and follow-on partnerships.

• July 7, 2016: As highlighted in a May 2016 report of GAO (Government Accounting Office), the NOAA JPSS program has continued to make progress in developing the JPSS-1 satellite for a March 2017 launch. However, the program has experienced technical challenges which have resulted in delays in interim milestones. In addition, NOAA faces the potential for a near-term gap in satellite coverage of 8 months before the JPSS-1 satellite is launched and completes post-launch testing (Figure 11). 25)

- However, uncertainties remained on the best timing for launching these satellites, in part because of the potential for some satellites already in orbit to last longer. NOAA did not provide sufficient evidence that it had evaluated the costs and benefits of launch scenarios for these new satellites based on updated life expectancies. Until this occurs, NOAA may not make the most efficient use of investments in the polar satellite program.

Figure 11: Timeline for a Potential Gap in Polar Satellite Data in the Afternoon Orbit. The GAO analysis is based on NOAA and NASA data (image credit: GAO)

• NOAA's JPSS-1 satellite, the second in the JPSS satellite series, is slated for launch in early 2017 aboard a Delta-2 launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. To prepare, the spacecraft is currently going through an array of tests designed to simulate the extreme environments the satellite may experience during launch and while in orbit. During the testing period, JPSS-1 and its instruments will be subjected to a variety of harsh conditions, including acoustical bombardment, intense vibration, electromagnetic fields, thermal vacuum environments and ground system compatibility tests. 26)

- The tests are taking place at BATC where the spacecraft was assembled. The satellite will be placed inside a large vacuum chamber, where it will be exposed to a simulated space environment complete with extreme hot and cold temperatures ranging from 10 degrees Celsius above and below what it could experience in space. The satellite will also undergo vibration and acoustic testing to simulate the experience of launching into space aboard a rocket, and electromagnetic testing to ensure it is properly protected from electromagnetic phenomena in space, such as solar flares.

- JPSS-1 takes advantage of the successful technologies developed through the NOAA/NASA Suomi-NPP satellite and has a design life of seven years.

• February 11, 2016: The fifth and final instrument, the ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder), an instrument critical to forecasting weather three to seven days in advance, has been integrated with the JPSS-1 satellite. This marks a very significant milestone for the JPSS program. Soon, the spacecraft will be prepared for the environmental testing phase which is the next step toward launch. 29)

- Compared with NOAA's legacy microwave sounders, ATMS offers more channels and better resolution and collects a wider swath of data. ATMS will be operating in tandem with CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder) aboard the JPSS-1 satellite. By working together to cover more of the electromagnetic spectrum (microwave and infrared), ATMS and CrIS will provide coverage of a broad range of weather conditions.

- ATMS is built by Northrop Grumman in Azusa, California and was delivered to BATC in Boulder, Colorado where it was integrated with the spacecraft. ATMS currently flies on the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite mission and will fly on the JPSS-1, JPSS-2, JPSS-3, and JPSS-4 satellite missions.

• Fall 2015: The solar panel array on NOAA's polar-orbiting satellite JPSS-1 spacecraft successfully completed deployment testing at BATC. Engineers unfurled the three panels of the solar array on a special friction reducing floor that helps simulate deployment in the zero-gravity environment of space. The solar array is folded up at launch and deploys on orbit, resembling a giant black wing and generating more than 2775 W of power for NOAA's JPSS-1 satellite. 30)

• June 30, 2015: BATC has powered the JPSS-1 satellite for the first time. Powering on of the satellite is a key milestone to delivery. Following powering on, the satellite performed within specifications. 31)

- Ball earlier completed integration of four of five JPSS-1 flight instruments. The latest milestone means the satellite is moving toward environmental testing by early 2016 with on-time delivery scheduled for late 2016.

Figure 13: JPSS-1 has been powered-on for the first time, advancing the polar-orbiting environmental satellite toward environmental testing and delivery in 2016 (image credit: BATC)

• April 9, 2015: The CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder) has been successfully integrated with the spacecraft. CrIS follows successful integration of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite-Nadir (OMPS-N) instrument, the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). 32)

- Following integration of the final instrument to fly on JPSS-1, ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) later this year, the JPSS-1 satellite will enter environmental testing. 33)

Figure 14: Photo of the CrIS instrument which is being moved into position just prior to integration with the JPSS-1 spacecraft (image credit: BATC)

• March 10, 2015: The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) has been successfully integrated on- board NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) satellite. The VIIRS instrument, built by the Raytheon Company in El Segundo, California, is the third instrument to be integrated on the spacecraft by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. 34)

• Feb. 18, 2015: The CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder) has completed its pre-shipment review. The completion of the development of the CrIS instrument marks another important step in the on-time completion of the critical instruments for the JPSS-1 spacecraft. 35)

• June 17, 2014: The CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) instrument, was delivered to Ball Aerospace for spacecraft integration on June 17, 2014. 36)

• April 25, 2014: CERES, the first of five instruments that will fly on JPSS-1, successfully completed pre-shipment review last week. 38)

• March 2014: BATC has applied power to the JPSS-1 spacecraft bus for the first time, a significant milestone for achieving on-time delivery to NOAA. Power-on is the first time that the spacecraft bus is operated as a system with the core EDPS (Electrical Power & Distribution System) and the integrated components of the C&DH (Command & Data Handling) subsystem. Power will be cycled on/off continuously over the next nine months of spacecraft integration and testing. 39)

• February 2014: BATC has successfully completed the SpaceWire interoperability test for the JPSS-1 satellite and has begun spacecraft bus integration. The scope of the test, conducted under both normal and fault conditions, proved the functionality of links using flight-like engineering models of key JPSS-1 spacecraft bus subsystems and engineering models for VIIRS and CrIS. The three additional JPSS-1 instruments include the ATMS , CERES, and the Ball Aerospace-built OMPS (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite). 40)

• In December 2012, a four-day delta Critical Design Review (dCDR) of work was conducted at BATC with representatives of NASA and NOAA and the instrument providers. With this successful review, the spacecraft has now been approved to proceed into implementation. 41)

• April 2014: CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System), the first of five instruments that will fly on JPSS-1, NOAA's next polar orbiting environmental satellite, successfully completed pre-shipment review. 42)

Once in orbit, the JPSS-1 spacecraft will be known as NOAA- 20 (once in orbit). This naming ensures the satellite will be identified consistently with previous NOAA operational polar satellite missions dating back to 1978. The previous satellite launched in 2011, the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite, serves as a bridge from legacy missions to JPSS. 47)

JPSS-1 is the first in NOAA's series of four, next-generation operational environmental satellites designed to circle the Earth in a polar orbit. JPSS represents significant technological and scientific advancements in observations used for severe weather prediction and environmental monitoring. This data is used by NOAA's National Weather Service for numerical forecast models, ultimately helping emergency managers make timely decisions on life-saving early warnings and evacuations.

• February 15, 2019: An enormous dust cloud snaked over Australia in mid-February 2019, carried toward the southeast by strong, dry winds. The dust reddened the skies over Sydney and turned air quality "hazardous" over parts of New South Wales. 48)

- The dust cloud is visible in this map, produced with data collected on 13 February 2019, with the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) on the NOAA-20 satellite. The map of Figure 16 shows relative aerosol concentrations, with lower concentrations in yellow and higher concentrations in dark orange-brown.

- That same day, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this natural-color image of the dust. According to news reports, the dust plume stretched 1,300 kilometers over land, and another 1,000 kilometers offshore.

Figure 17: The VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite of NASA acquired this image on 13 February 2019 (NASA Earth Observatory, image by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview, story by Kathryn Hansen)

- Air quality monitoring stations around Sydney reported elevated levels of PM10—particles smaller than 10 µm that can enter the lungs and cause health problems. According to the New South Wales Office of Environment & Heritage, air in parts of the North West Slopes region reached hazardous levels—the worst level on the air quality index.

• November 6, 2018: By the time the U.S. Forest Service declared the Mendocino Complex Fire 100 percent contained on Sept.18, it had scorched more than 459,000 acres, destroyed 157 homes and forced thousands to evacuate. One firefighter was killed and four others injured. It was the largest recorded wildfire in California's history. 49)

- As the fires burned, air quality reached "unhealthy" levels in large regions of California and Western Nevada, and wind carried smoke from California all the way to the East Coast.

- Knowing how smoke from wildfires travels through the atmosphere is critical for visibility, but also human health. Particulate matter from wildfire smoke can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause a range of health problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, "from burning eyes and a runny nose to aggravated chronic heart and lung diseases."

- Wildfires and the smoke they emit are notoriously difficult to forecast. This is because there are so many variables to account for: lightning, weather, and, of course, human activity.

- "In the past, it was a challenge for the atmospheric models to know where the fire was, how active it was, and how much emissions it was putting into the atmosphere," said Andy Edman, chief of the science technology infusion division for the western region of the National Weather Service.

Figure 18: Vertically integrated smoke" is all of the smoke in a vertical column, including smoke high in the Earth's atmosphere. On the left is a natural-color image of the Western United States during the Mendocino Complex Fire on August 6 at approximately 2:00 pm PDT, using data from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite. On the right, the HRRR-Smoke (High Resolution Rapid Refresh-Smoke) model shows vertically integrated smoke at the same time (image credit: Lauren Dauphin/ NASA Earth Observatory)

- But a new experimental model that relies on data from the Joint Polar Satellite System's Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 (JPSS-1)polar-orbiting satellites, as well as Terra and Aqua, has proved remarkably good at simulating the behavior of wildfire smoke.

Figure 19: A 36-hour HRRR-Smoke forecast from August 6 shows vertically integrated smoke moving east across the United States during the Mendocino Complex Fire (image credit: Lauren Dauphin/ NASA Earth Observatory)

- Central to HRRR-Smoke is an important metric called FRP (Fire Radiative Power). FRP is a measurement of the amount of heat released by a given fire, in megawatts, detected with the VIIRS instruments on Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20. A large fire, for example, might reach about 4,000 megawatts per pixel. Calculating a fire's heat or intensity also helps scientists pinpoint its location.

- The model combines this FRP data with windspeed, rain and atmospheric temperature, along with information from vegetation maps. Sagebrush burns differently than a ponderosa pine, and the more the scientists know about what's burning, the better the simulations.

- "Grass burns fast. And a dense forest has so much biomass to burn, so it's going to produce much more smoke than a grassland," said Eric James, a research associate with NOAA's Earth Systems Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at CU Boulder.

- These measurements are mapped to a three-dimensional grid that extends nearly 16 miles into the atmosphere. What results is a detailed forecast of the amount of smoke produced, the direction it's traveling and its plume height. HRRR-Smoke spits out these forecasts four times a day, extending out to 36 hours.

- The forecasts are visualized as two plots: "Near-surface smoke" refers to the smoke about 8 m from the ground, the kind responsible for burning eyes and worsening asthma. "Vertically integrated smoke" is all of the smoke in a vertical column, including smoke high in the Earth's atmosphere. That's the smoke you see at sunrise and sunset.

"Near-surface smoke is one indicator of air pollution, but the smoke could also be at much higher altitudes," said Ravan Ahmadov, the main developer of the HRRR smoke model, and a research scientist at NOAA's Earth Systems Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at CU Boulder. "That's important to know, because the smoke could affect visibility for aviation."

- Higher altitude smoke can also block incoming sunlight, which in turn can cool air temperatures and interfere with solar energy production. "The key advantages of HRRR-Smoke are the high spatial resolution and the tight coupling with a weather forecast model," Ahmadov said.

- HRRR-Smoke is being used increasingly on the ground by forecasters and government agencies, but also by schools and sports teams. During California's Ferguson fire, which burned from mid-July to mid-August, HRRR-Smoke simulations were consulted when the Department of Transportation made a decision to suspend Amtrak service and when the National Park Service closed parts of Yosemite National Park for three weeks. As fires burned south of Provo, Utah, schools opted to keep kids inside during recess and to cancel Friday night football games. In Oregon, a children's swim coach moved outdoor swim practice to an indoor pool.

- If you have a child with asthma, you'll know to take precautions," Edman said. "When we can tell people that the smoke is going to move in and hang around for a day, they can take smart actions to anticipate the event."

The origin story

- The origins of HRRR-Smoke date back four years. Advances were happening simultaneously in several fields, and everything converged in the back row of a meeting in Madison, Wisconsin.

- Scientists had recently developed the HRRR weather model, with its high-resolution representation of atmospheric convection. Convection describes the movement of energy from the Earth's surface up into the atmosphere; convection that is sufficiently deep produces thunderstorms. Meanwhile, on the satellite front, scientists had zeroed in on fire radiative power from VIIRS. And atmospheric chemists were working to turn a fire's intensity into an estimate of smoke emissions.

- "All these major advancements were happening at same time," Edman said. "When you read the history of science, I think this is not uncommon. People say, you got this, I got that, why don't we get together and make something happen?"

- The scientists acquired funding from the JPSS Satellite Proving Ground program, and they began holding meetings, running tests and working with forecasters.

- Fast forward to present day, and a small team, led by Ahmadov, runs the model around the clock from a NOAA research lab in Boulder, Colorado.

- The smoke forecast is a great example of the JPSS program's "Proving Ground" initiatives, which seek to translate satellite observations into public services that ultimately affect decision making, said Mitch Goldberg, the chief program scientist for JPSS.

- "Satellites are expensive, but the societal and economic benefits are huge. So we engage with the community to help them realize the benefits of our data," Goldberg said. "Let's say someone's decision is simply, ‘Do I leave my house and seek shelter?' Or you have families wanting to know if the air quality is good or bad and if they can go outside. We try to work with services, such as smoke forecasts, which would communicate that."

Next steps

- The HRRR-Smoke model is still evolving. One limitation, Ahmadov said, is that each polar orbiting satellite passes over a single location in the continental United States twice a day, and fires can spread and evolve rapidly during the gaps in time.

- Ahmadov's ultimate goal is to add smoke to the regular HRRR model and transition it to operations at the National Weather Service. And he hopes to eventually incorporate data from geostationary satellites like GOES-16 and GOES-17. These satellites have a lower spatial resolution but would scan the fires more often.

- In the next couple years, I think we're going to see a lot of small, incremental improvements," Edman said. "The model's not perfect, but all the components came together this year, and the forecasts were pretty darn good."

• July 2018: Since launch in November 2017, the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on-board the NOAA-20 /JPSS-1 satellite has completed its initial intensive on-orbit check-outs and several key calibration and validation activities scheduled to help evaluate sensor at launch performance. 50)

- Like its predecessor aboard the Suomi NPP spacecraft launched in October 2011, the VIIRS collects data in 22 spectral bands. In addition to a day and night band (DNB), spectral bands (M1-M11 and I1-I3) with wavelengths from 0.41 to 2.2 µm are referred to as the reflective solar bands (RSB) and other bands (M12-16 and I4-I5) covering wavelengths from 3.7 to 12 µm are referred to as the thermal emissive bands (TEB). M1-M5, M7, and M13 can make observations at either high- or low-gain and the DNB is capable of collecting data at three different gain stages.

- As shown in Figure 20, the VIIRS on-orbit calibration is performed by the OBCs that include a solar diffuser (SD) and a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) for the RSB and a blackbody (BB) for the TEB. Lunar observations are also made regularly as a supplement to instrument on-board calibration. The SD calibration is normally performed every orbit. The SDSM is currently operated on a daily basis. The BB warm-up/cool-down (WUCD), initially planned on a quarterly basis, will be executed less frequently in future operation. Like Suomi NPP, lunar observations will be scheduled 8-9 times per year at nearly identical phase angles (-51º). The first lunar calibration for N-20 VIIRS was performed on December 29, 2017 via a spacecraft roll maneuver.

- Since launch, a number of calibration improvements have been made. Using data collected during spacecraft yaw maneuvers, the SD and SDSM screen transmission functions are derived, updated and used for on-orbit calibration. Compared to pre-launch measurements, on-orbit yaw maneuver data provide fine details, both geometrically (more angles) and spectrally (more wavelengths). The TEB RVS characterized using pitch maneuver data shows good agreement with pre-launch results. DNB straylight correction strategy is based on lessons from Suomi NPP and needs extra effort to address effects in the extended zone (not in Suomi NPP). Similar to Suomi NPP, the lunar long-term trend will be used to support RSB solar calibration. From the perspective of long-term data records, the calibration consistency between Suomi NPP and N-20 VIIRS will likely be a major challenge and requires more studies.

• May 30, 2018: The NOAA-20 (JPSS-1) satellite is now operational. Advanced data will detect environmental hazards, improve weather forecasts. Weather forecasters officially have a new tool in their arsenal, as the first satellite in NOAA's new Joint Polar Satellite System has passed rigorous testing and is now operational. 51)

- Launched in November 2017 as JPSS-1 and renamed NOAA-20 once it reached orbit, the satellite features the latest and best technology NOAA has ever flown in a polar orbit to capture more precise observations of the world's atmosphere, land and waters. Data from the satellite's advanced instruments will help improve the accuracy of 3-to-7 day forecasts.

- NOAA-20 provides NOAA's National Weather Service with global data for numerical weather prediction models used to develop timely and accurate U.S. weather forecasts. In addition, high-resolution imagery from the satellite's VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) will enable the satellite to detect fog, sea-ice formation and breaking in the Arctic, volcanic eruptions and wildfires in their very early stages. This advanced modeling and imagery information, shared with international and governmental partners, will help businesses, the emergency preparedness and response communities and individuals make the best decisions possible in the face of weather-related hazards.

- NOAA-20 joins Suomi NPP – the NOAA-NASA demonstration satellite launched in 2011 – giving the U.S. the benefit of two sophisticated spacecraft in nearly the same orbit. Each circles the Earth in a polar orbit 14 times a day, collecting global observations that form the basis for U.S. weather prediction.

- "NOAA-20 is especially beneficial for tracking developing storms in the Arctic, Alaska and Antarctica. Forecasts for these remote regions are critical for the U.S. fishing, energy, transportation and recreation industries, which operate in some of the harshest conditions on the planet," said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction.

- JPSS-2, the second in the series, is scheduled to be launched in 2021, followed by JPSS-3 in 2026 and JPSS-4 in 2031. JPSS satellites are designed to operate for seven years, with the potential for several more years. The JPSS mission will deliver its critical data and information for at least the next two decades to support a Weather-Ready Nation.

• April 20, 2018: NOAA's newest polar-orbiting satellite, NOAA-20 (JPSS-1), captured this magnificent view of the Earth's North Pole on April 12, 2018 (Figure 21). By passing over the pole 14 times a day, the satellite's VIIRS instrument was able to create this composite image of the planet, centered over the frozen Arctic, from 824 km above Earth. The outline of the North American continent is visible at the bottom of the Earth's disk, while the Sahara Desert and northern Africa appear on the right hand side. 52)

- Scientists use the data from NOAA-20's VIIRS sensor to create the "true-color" imagery shown here. While true-color images appear to be simple photographs of Earth, they are actually created by combining data from the three color channels on the satellite's VIIRS instrument sensitive to the red, green and blue (or RGB) wavelengths of light into a single composite image.

- As the backbone of the global satellite observing system, NOAA-20 circles the Earth from pole to pole and crosses the equator about 14 times daily, providing full global coverage twice a day. The satellite's instruments measure temperature, water vapor, ozone, precipitation, fire and volcanic eruptions, and can distinguish snow and ice cover under clouds. This data enables more accurate weather forecasting for the United States and the world.

Figure 21: NOAA-20 Shares New View of the North Pole for Earth Day (image credit: NOAA/NESDIS)

• April 12, 2018: Ball Aerospace completed the handover of NOAA's advanced next-generation polar-orbiting weather satellite, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1), to NASA following a successful satellite acceptance review. Launched on Nov. 18, 2017, JPSS-1, now known as NOAA-20, is the most advanced operational environmental system ever developed by government and industry, and significantly increases the timeliness and accuracy of forecasts three to seven days in advance of severe weather events. 53)

- The acceptance review confirmed the satellite met its on-orbit requirements, and the spacecraft and the five instruments are performing as expected. NOAA-20 is proceeding on schedule for operations handover from NASA to NOAA. NOAA will determine when the satellite data will be used in NOAA products and services.

- "Everyone on our planet is affected by weather – especially adverse weather – in some way, and relies on systems like JPSS that are part of our nation's critical infrastructure, just like roads and bridges," said Rob Strain, president, Ball Aerospace. "The NOAA-20 satellite, with its sophisticated instruments, is ready to deliver better, more accurate data for operational weather forecasting, which will help save lives and resources, protect property and support our economy, now and well into the future."

- NOAA-20 is now circling in the same orbital plane as the Ball-built Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, allowing important overlap in observational coverage to occur for critical instrument calibration and validation activities, which in turn lead to more accurate weather forecasting. NOAA-20 crosses the equator about 14 times daily - providing full global coverage twice a day, making precise measurements of the atmosphere, ocean and land surface, measurements that are critical for the nation's weather models and forecasters.

- Ball Aerospace designed and manufactured the NOAA-20 spacecraft and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite-Nadir (OMPS-N) instrument; integrated all five of the satellite's instruments, including those built by industry partners Harris, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman; and performed satellite-level testing and launch support.

- The JPSS missions are funded by NOAA to provide global environmental data in low-Earth polar orbit. NASA is the acquisition agent for the flight systems, launch services and components of the ground segment. Ball is also under contract to build the OMPS instruments for NOAA's follow-on JPSS-2, JPSS-3 and JPSS-4 missions.

• March 23, 2018: It is the first category 5 cyclone of 2018 and the strongest to hit Darwin, Australia, since 1974. But so far, Cyclone Marcus has directed most of its fury into the Indian Ocean, rather than onto landmasses. 54)

- At 2 p.m. local time (06:00 UT) on March 21, 2018, VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on JPSS-1 (Joint Polar Satellite System–1) satellite acquired a natural-color image (Figure 22) of Cyclone Marcus off the northwest coast of Australia. At the time, the storm had sustained winds of 125 knots (145 miles/230 km/hour) according to estimates from the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. It was a category 5 storm on the Australian cyclone scale.

- The next day, the VIIRS instrument on Suomi NPP captured another view of the storm. Satellite estimates of wind speed suggested very little change, with the storm still at category 5 strength.

- Marcus first developed as a tropical storm on March 15, 2018, and reached category 2 cyclone strength on the Australian scale on March 17 (a strong tropical storm compared to Atlantic hurricanes). The cyclone blew through Darwin with wind gusts as high as 130 km/hour. The storm knocked out electricity for more than 20,000 people, and thousands of trees were destroyed, including many that were planted in the wake of Cyclone Tracy of 1974.

- Cyclone Marcus skirted Northern Territory and Western Australia as it moved westward over very warm water and reached category 4 strength by March 21. The map of Figure 23 shows the SSTs (Sea Surface Temperatures) in the equatorial Indian Ocean on March 21, 2018. The data were compiled by Coral Reef Watch, which blends observations from the Suomi NPP, MTSAT, Meteosat, and GOES satellites, and computer models. The dotted white line across the Indian Ocean shows the cutoff between waters above and below 27.8ºC, a threshold scientists believe to be necessary to fuel a cyclone. The yellow-to-red line represents the storm's track.

- As of March 22, forecasters were calling for Marcus to remain at severe strength for another day, then weaken rapidly as it turns south toward cooler water. The remnants of the storm could make landfall around Perth as a tropical depression.

Figure 23: Coral Reef Watch SSTs blending observations from the Suomi NPP, MTSAT, Meteosat, and GOES satellites, and computer models. The dotted white line across the Indian Ocean shows the cutoff between waters above and below 27.8ºC, a threshold scientists believe to be necessary to fuel a cyclone. The yellow-to-red line represents the storm's track (image credit: NASA Earth Observatory, image by Joshua Stevens, using SST data from Coral Reef Watch, and storm track information from Unisys, story by Mike Carlowicz)

• January 16, 2018: The covers on the CERES FM6 (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Flight Model 6) opened Jan. 5, allowing it to scan Earth for the first time. 55)

- CERES FM6 began scanning Earth at approximately 1:25 p.m. (EST) Jan. 5. On Jan. 10, scientists used those scans to produce the "first light" images.

- Built by Northrop Grumman, funded by NOAA and managed by NASA/LaRC (Langley Research Center) in Hampton, Virginia, in coordination with the JPSS program, CERES FM6 is the last in a series of instruments going back to the late 1990s that measure the solar energy reflected by Earth, the heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds in that process.

- "CERES FM6 is the seventh and final copy since we first launched the first CERES instrument in 1997. It is the most accurate broadband radiometer that NASA/NOAA have flown as a result of a more rigorous prelaunch calibration campaign than previous instruments," said CERES Project Scientist Kory Priestley. "We were able to take knowledge from on-orbit operations and apply it to this flight model. We've done a better job of building and characterizing the instrument, and with hope that will bear fruit as the mission is flown."

- "The robustness of the CERES instruments already on-orbit, having exceeded their design lifetimes by a factor of two to three, is testament to the work of the dedicated team of engineers at Northrop Grumman," Priestley said. "The scientific discoveries the community will make by utilizing these datasets will benefit humanity for decades to come."

Figure 24: In this shortwave image from CERES FM6, the white and green shades represent thick cloud cover reflecting incoming solar energy back to space. Compare that with the darker blue regions, which have no cloud cover, to get a sense for just how much clouds can affect the balance of incoming and outgoing energy on Earth (image credit: NASA)

Figure 25: In this longwave image from CERES FM6, heat energy radiated from Earth is represented by shades of yellow, red, blue and white. Bright yellow regions are the hottest and emit the most energy out to space. Dark blue and bright white regions, which represent clouds, are much colder and emit the least energy (image credit: NASA)

- Five other CERES instruments are flying on three other satellites. Their data helps scientists validate models that calculate the effect of clouds on planetary heating and cooling. The same data can also be helpful for improving near-term, seasonal forecasts influenced by weather events such as El Niño and La Niña. El Niño and La Niña are climatic fluctuations in the temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean that can influence weather globally.

- "The successful launch of CERES FM6 and acquisition of initial data is fantastic news," said David Considine, program manager for NASA's Modeling, Analysis and Prediction program. "Its data will help us to understand the critical role that clouds play in the Earth system, and shows the value to the Nation of the NASA and NOAA collaboration leading to this achievement."

- The CERES data record extends back to 1997. Prior to CERES, the ERBE (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) collected similar data beginning in 1984. The two NASA programs demonstrate NASA's long-term involvement in measuring Earth's energy balance going back more than 30 years.

- "Northrop Grumman is proud to be a collaborative partner with NASA and NOAA on this successful CERES mission. Between the seven CERES instruments and their ERBE predecessors, we have had a relationship in Earth radiation budget measurements that now spans over three decades," said Northrop Grumman CERES Program Manager Sean Kelly. "The CERES instruments continue to reliably provide the climate data record necessary for monitoring, processing and analyzing critical data for the Earth science community. CERES is one of the most highly calibrated, highly reliable instruments on-orbit today."

• December 13, 2017: Twenty-five days after JPSS-1 (NOAA-20) was launched into Earth orbit, NOAA-20 sent back its first VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) science data on December 13, 2017, as part of a series of instrument activation and checkouts that is taking place before the satellite goes into fully operational mode. VIIRS is one of the key five instruments onboard NOAA-20 that will improve day-to-day weather forecast and environmental monitoring, while extending the record of many long-term observations of Earth's climate. 56)

- This VIIRS true color image captured the aggressive wildfires across the Southern California region which forced thousands to flee their homes. As of Wednesday morning, December 13, 2017, the Thomas Fire was the fourth-largest fire in California history, and it continues to generate smoke and plumes as it enters its second week. The fire spanned more than 370 square miles (>95,800 hectares) and remains the strongest blaze for firefighters to battle in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Figure 26: The NOAA-20 VIIRS first light image captures one of the largest wildfires in California history (image credit: NOAA Visualization Lab and NESDIS/STAR)

• November 30, 2017: Eleven days after JPSS-1 launched into Earth orbit, the satellite, now known as NOAA-20, has sent back its first ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) science data as part of a series of instrument startups and checkouts that will take place before the satellite goes into full operational mode. The NOAA-20 satellite carries five instruments that will improve day-to-day weather forecasting while extending the record of many long-term observations of Earth's climate. 57)

- ATMS receives 22 channels of radio waves from 23 to 183 gigahertz. Five water vapor channels, combined with other temperature sounding channels are used to provide the critical global atmospheric temperature and water vapor needed to provide accurate weather forecasts out to seven days. ATMS also maps global precipitation, snow and ice cover.

Figure 27: This image uses ATMS data to depict the location and abundance of water vapor (as associated with antenna temperatures) in the lower atmosphere, from the surface of the Earth to 5 kilometers altitude. Transparent/grey colors depict areas with less water vapor, while blue-green and purple colors represent abundant water in all phases (vapor, clouds, and precipitation) in low and middle latitudes. In the polar regions, purple depicts surface snow and ice. Water vapor distribution in space and time is a critical measurement for improving global weather forecasts. With detailed vertical information, forecasters can better identify the transport of water vapor associated with jet streams, which can fuel severe weather events (image credit: NOAA, NASA)

• November 21, 2017: JPSS-1 not only reached polar orbit on Saturday, November 18; it also officially became known as NOAA-20. 58)

• November 18, 2017: All CubeSats have been deployed! P-POD 1 released EagleSat-1, RadFXSat and MakerSat-0; Buccaneer deployed from P-POD 2; and MiRaTA deployed from P-POD 3. The CubeSats all are flying solo to begin their missions. 59)

- Orbit: All CubeSats were deployed into an elliptical sun-synchronous orbit with a perigee of 450 km and an apogee at 810 km, inclination = 97.2º.

• Approximately 63 minutes after launch the solar arrays on JPSS-1 deployed and the spacecraft was operating on its own power. JPSS-1 will be renamed NOAA-20 when it reaches its final orbit. Following a three-month checkout and validation of its five advanced instruments, the satellite will become operational. 60)

- JPSS-1 will join the joint NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite in the same orbit and provide meteorologists with observations of atmospheric temperature and moisture, clouds, sea-surface temperature, ocean color, sea ice cover, volcanic ash, and fire detection. The data will improve weather forecasting, such as predicting a hurricane's track, and will help agencies involved with post-storm recovery by visualizing storm damage and the geographic extent of power outages.

Sensor complement: (ATMS, CrIS, CERES, OMPS, VIIRS)

Contracts with instrument developers: NASA signed the final contract on June 19, 2012 with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems of El Segundo, CA, for the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite) instrument. The ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) contract was signed with Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems of Azusa, CA, in April, 2012. NASA completed the JPSS-1 spacecraft and the OMPS (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite) instrument contract with Ball Aerospace in 2011. The contract to Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems for the JPSS Ground System was also completed in 2011, as was the CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder) instrument contract with ITT Exelis (Ref. 14). 61)62)

Figure 28: JPSS-1 flight configuration and allocation of the instrument suite, identical to the one of NPP (image credit: NASA, NOAA) 63)

Note: Due to JPSS-1 (NPP Clone) bus limitations, the JPSS FF-1 (JPSS Free Flyer-1) mission was developed, a complementary mission to the JPSS-1 satellite. It will fly the instruments, which were originally planned for the former NPOESS satellites, but could not be accommodated on the JPSS satellites.

JPSS Free Flyer-1 will accommodate the following instruments:

• TSIS (Total Solar Irradiance Sensor)

• A-DCS (Advanced Data Collection System)

• SARSAT (Search and Rescue) instruments.

Figure 29: The JPSS instruments (image credit: NOAA)

ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder)

ATMS, of Suomi-NPP heritage, provides sounding observations necessary to retrieve atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles for civilian operational weather forecasting, as well as continuity of these measurements for climate monitoring. In addition to temperature and moisture profiles, some of ATMS-derived products include integrated water vapor content, cloud liquid water content, precipitation rate, snow cover and sea ice concentration.

ATMS is the next generation cross-track microwave sounder that will combine the capabilities of current generation microwave temperature sounders AMSU-A, AMSU-B and AMSU-B/MHS, into a single instrument. The ATMS draws its heritage directly from AMSU-A/B, but with reduced volume, mass and power. The ATMS has 22 microwave channels to provide temperature and moisture sounding capabilities. Sounding data from CrIS and ATMS will be combined to construct atmospheric temperature profiles at 1 degree Kelvin accuracy for 1 km layers in the troposphere and moisture profiles accurate to 15% for 2 km layers. Higher (spatial, temporal and spectral) resolution and more accurate sounding data from CrIS and ATMS will support continuing advances in data assimilation systems and NWP models to improve short- to medium-range weather forecasts beyond three days. - The ATMS instrument was developed at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems of Azusa, CA. 64)

Instrument calibration: The instrument includes on-board calibration sources viewed by the reflectors during each scan cycle. The calibration of the ATMS is a so-called through-the-aperture type, two-point calibration subsystem. The warm reference point is a microwave blackbody target whose temperature is monitored. In addition, cold space is viewed during each scan cycle. Both calibrations provide for the highly accurate microwave sounding measurements required by the operational and science applications of ATMS data.

There are three antenna beamwidths. The temperature sounding channels are 2.2º (Nyquist-sampling in both along-scan & down-track directions) while the humidity channels are 1.1º. Channels 1 and 2 have a larger beam width of 5.2º. This is due to the limited volume available on the spacecraft for ATMS.

These products are derived from the CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder) and ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) currently onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite and later will be available from the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1 and JPSS-2). 67)

CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder)

CrIS is the first in a series of advanced operational sounders that will provide more accurate, detailed atmospheric temperature and moisture observations for weather and climate applications. This high-spectral resolution infrared instrument will take 3-D images of atmospheric temperatures, water vapor and trace gases. It will provide over 1,000 infrared spectral channels at an improved horizontal spatial resolution and measure temperature profiles with keen vertical resolution to an accuracy approaching 1 K (the absolute temperature scale). This information will help significantly to improve climate prediction, including both short-term weather "nowcasting" and longer-term forecasting. It will also provide a vital tool for NOAA to take the pulse of the planet continuously and assist in understanding major climate shifts. The CrIS instrument is developed by ITT Exelis, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

CrIS, of HIRS/4 (POES) and AIRS (Aqua) heritage, is a high-spectral and high-spatial resolution infrared sounder for atmospheric profiling applications. The overall objective is to perform daily measurements of Earth's upwelling infrared radiation to determine the vertical atmospheric distribution (surface to the top of the atmosphere) of temperature (profiles to better than 1 K accuracy in the lower troposphere and lesser accuracy at higher altitudes), moisture (profiles to better than 20-35% accuracy depending on altitude) and pressure (profiles to better than 1.0% accuracy ) with an associated 1.0 km vertical layer resolution. The Michelson interferometer sounder has 1305 spectral channels, it covers a spectral range of 650-2550 cm-1 (or 3.9 to 15.4 µm), with a spectral resolution of 0.6525 cm-1 (LWIR), and a ground spatial resolution (IFOV) of 14.0 km (from an orbital altitude of 833 km). Each scan (with an 8-second repeat interval) includes views of the internal calibration target (warm calibration point), and a deep space view (cold calibration point). The overall instrument data rate is <1.5Mbit/s. Only photovoltaic detectors are used in the CrIS instrument. The detectors are cooled to approximately 81K using a 4-stage passive cooler with no moving parts. They have a low-risk heritage design of over 50 space units. The IFOVs are arranged in a 3 x 3 array. The swath width is 2200 km (FOV of ±50º), with 30 Earth-scene views.

The CrIS optical system was designed to provide an optimum combination of optical performance and compact packaging. Its key subsystems include a step and settle two-axis scene selection module with image motion compensation capability, a full-aperture internal calibration source, a large-aperture Michelson interferometer, a three-element all reflective telescope, a cooled aft optics module, a multiple-stage passive cooler, and an attached electronics assembly. The interferometer uses a flat-mirror Michelson configuration equipped with a dynamic alignment system to minimize misalignments within the interferometer and has a maximum optical path difference of ±0.8 cm. 69)

The "unapodized spectral resolution" requirement is defined as I/(2L), where L is the maximum optical path difference from ZOND (Zero Path Difference) to MPD (Maximum optical Path Difference). The on-axis unapodized spectral resolution for each spectral band shall be ≤to the values given in Table 5. Since L determines the unapodized spectral resolution, the nominal value for L is also given in the table. 70)

Instrument: The CrIS instrument consists of 6 modular assemblies: optical bench, scanning telescope, interferometer, PV focal plane arrays, 4-stage passive cooler, and electronics. The optical bench provides a stable structure for mounting all of the other assemblies. The scanning telescope scans the Earth views, the ICT (Internal Calibration Target), and deep space, and focuses the IR energy into the interferometer. The interferometer sequentially "breaks" the IR energy into the spectral bands, much like the "rainbow" from a DVD surface. The PV detectors sense the sequenced IR energy (from the interferometer), and provide an electrical signal corresponding to the incoming IR energy. The 4-stage cooler is used to cool the detectors, and hence reduce any spurious detector noise. The electronics assembly controls the instrument. It also conditions and formats the telescope scan and detector signals for output to the spacecraft. 71)72)

• 8 cm clear aperture

• A collimator is used to perform the spatial and spectral characterizations

CrIS calibration: The calibration of the interferometer is accomplished with both LASER wavelength calibration, and also with a Neon bulb spectral calibration. The ICT (Internal Calibration Target) consists of a highly emissive, deep-cavity blackbody, utilizing a flight-proven, MOPITT (Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere)-heritage design. Temperature knowledge of the ICT is better than 80mK. A passive vibration isolation system is included to allow instrument operation in a 50mG environment. The instrument optics are thermally decoupled from both the structure and the instrument electronics. The overall instrument design is modular, which allows for parallel assembly and rapid instrument integration.

Data of CrIS will be combined in particular with those of ATMS to construct atmospheric temperature profiles at 1 K accuracy for 1 km layers in the troposphere and moisture profiles accurate to 15% for 2 km layers. 75)

CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System)

The CERES measurements seek to develop and improve weather forecast and climate models prediction. CERES will help provide measurements of the space and time distribution of the Earth's Radiation Budget (ERB) components, further developing a quantitative understanding of the links between the ERB and the properties of the atmosphere and surface that define the budget. The observations from CERES are essential to understanding the effect of clouds on the energy balance (energy coming in from the sun and radiating out from the earth), which is one of the largest sources of uncertainty in our modeling of the climate. NASA/LaRC is procuring the CERES instrumentation.

Background: The ERB measurements provided by the CERES instruments are key elements in the production of ERB Climate Data Records; these records that have been produced on a continuous basis for more than 20 years, including measurements from the ERBE (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) prior to CERES. Maintaining the continuity of these measurements and the ERB records are part of an overarching NOAA program objective to sustain continuity and enhance Earth observation analysis, forecasting and climate monitoring capabilities from global polar-orbiting observations.

The level of measurement accuracy necessary to assess climate change and understand the interactions of natural and anthropogenic effects occurring on a decadal time scale requires that instruments making these measurements overlap on orbit for sufficient periods to achieve transfer of calibration from one instrument to the next. The CERES instruments currently operating on the EOS (Earth Observing System) Terra and Aqua missions have provided over 10 years of accurate measurements of the solar reflected and Earth emitted energy.

The CERES FM5 instrument is currently flown on the Suomi-NPP mission while the CERES FM6 instrument is planned for launch on the JPSS-1 mission. These missions should provide continuity of ERB measurements into the next decade.

Figure 34: Earth's energy budget describes the balance between the radiant energy that reaches Earth from the sun and the energy that flows from Earth back out to space (image credit: NASA)

CERES Flight Model (FM)

Mission

Launch

Comment

PFM (Proto-Flight Model)

TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission)

Nov. 27, 1997

PFM performed for 8 months, then PFM was turned off from Aug. 1998 to June 2002, when it was on to provide a comparison with CERES on Aqua

CERES instrument measures the reflected shortwave (SW) and Earth emitted radiances. The objectives are to continue a consistent database of accurately known fields of Earth's reflected solar and Earth's emitted thermal radiation. CERES satisfies four JPSS EDRs, in combination with other instruments. 78)79)80)81)82)

- Net solar radiation at TOA (Top of the Atmosphere)

- Downward longwave radiation at the surface

- Downward shortwave radiation at the surface

- Outgoing longwave radiation at TOA.

CERES instrument: The CERES instrument consists of three major subassemblies: 1) Cassegrain telescope, 2) baffle for stray light, and 3) detector assembly, consisting of an active and compensating element. Radiation enters the unit through the baffle, passes through the telescope and is imaged onto the IR detector. Uncooled infrared detection is employed.

Limb-to-limb scanning with a nadir IFOV (Instantaneous Field of View) of 14 mrad, FOV = ±78º cross-track, 360º azimuth. Spatial resolution = 10-20 km at nadir. Each channel consists of a precision thermistor-bolometer detector located in a Cassegrain telescope.

Instrument calibration: CERES is a very precisely calibrated radiometer. The instrument is measuring emitted and reflected radiative energy from the surface of the Earth and the atmosphere. A variety of independent methods are used to verify calibration: 85)

• Internal calibration sources (blackbody, lamps)

• MAM (Mirror Attenuator Mosaic) solar diffuser plate. MAM is used to define in-orbit shifts or drifts in the sensor responses. The shortwave and total sensors are calibrated using the solar radiances reflected from the MAM's. Each MAM consists of baffle-solar diffuser plate systems, which guide incoming solar radiances into the instrument FOV of the shortwave and total sensor units.

Global CERES data allow scientists to validate models that calculate the effect of clouds in driving planetary heating or cooling. CERES data also help improve seasonal climate forecasts, including cloud and radiative aspects of large-scale climate events like El Niño and La Niña.

The CERES science team also uses high spatial resolution visible/infrared imager data to determine cloud properties including the amount, height, thickness, particle size, and phase of clouds using simultaneous measurements by other instruments, such as VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite). These measurements are critical for understanding cloud-radiation climate change and improving the prediction of global warming using climate models.

Data from CERES can also be used for assessing the radiative effects and climatic impact of natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, major floods, and droughts. The long-term data record from CERES will provide a basis for scientific understanding of cloud and climate feedback that determines climate variations and trends.

Figure 39: This map of India and the Middle East and Asia shows how much outgoing longwave radiation left Earth's atmosphere between May 15-27, 2015, while the region was experiencing a heatwave. Measurements for this image were made by the CERES instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The image was created using the CERES SSF (Single Scanner Footprint) 1deg data product (image credit: NASA's CERES Science Team)

OMPS (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite)

Ozone in the atmosphere keeps the Sun's ultraviolet radiation from striking the Earth. The OMPS will measure the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere, providing information on how ozone concentration varies with altitude. Data from OMPS will continue three decades of climate measurements of this important parameter used in global climate models. The OMPS measurements also fulfill the U.S. treaty obligation to monitor global ozone concentrations with no gaps in coverage. OMPS is comprised of two sensors: (1) a nadir sensor, and (2) a limb sensor. Measurements from the nadir sensor are used to generate total column ozone measurements, while measurements from the limb sensor generate ozone profiles of the along-track limb scattered solar radiance.

OMPS is a limb- and nadir-viewing UV hyperspectral imaging spectrometer, designed and developed at BATC (Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.), Boulder, CO. The objective is to measure the total amount of ozone in the atmosphere and the ozone concentration variation with altitude. OMPS is of SBUV/2, TOMS and GOME heritage. Also, the OMPS limb-sounding concept/technology was already tested with ISIR (Infrared Spectral Imaging Radiometer) flown on Shuttle flight STS-85 (Aug. 7-19, 1997) and with SOLSE/LORE flown on STS-87 (Nov 19 - Dec. 5, 1997). The vertical resolution requirement demands an instrument design to include a limb-viewing sensor in addition to a heritage-based nadir-viewing sensor. 86)87)88)89)

The OMPS instrument design features two coregistered spectrometers in the OMPS nadir sensor. The grating spectrometer and focal plane for total column measurements provide 0.45 nm spectral sampling across the wavelength range of 300 to 380 nm. The IFOV for the nadir cell of the total column measurement is 49.5 km cross track with an along-track reporting interval of 50 km. The total FOV cross track is 110º to provide daily global coverage.

Nadir-viewing instrument: The nadir sensor wide-field telescope feeds two separate spectrometers, a) for total column observations (mapper) and b) for nadir profiling observations. The total column spectrometer (300-380 nm spectral range, resolution of 0.45 nm) has a 2800 km cross-track swath (FOV = 110º and an along-track slit width of 0.27º) divided into 35 IFOVs of nearly equal angular extent. The CCD pixel measurements from its cross-track spatial dimension are summed into 35 bins. The summed bins subtend 3.35º (50 km) at nadir and 2.84º at ±55º. The along-track resolution is 50 km at nadir due to spacecraft motion during the 7.6 second reporting period. Measurements from this spectrometer are used to generate total column ozone data with a resolution of about 50 km x 50 km at nadir.

The nadir profile spectrometer (250-310 nm) has a 250 km cross-track swath corresponding to a single cell (cross-track FOV = 16.6º, and 0.26º along-track slit width). Co-registration with the total column spectrometer provides the total ozone, surface and cloud cover information needed for nadir profile retrievals. All of the cross-track pixels are binned spatially to form a single cell of 250 km x 250 km. Some instrument parameters are: 92)

- The telescope is a three mirror, near telecentric, off-axis design. The FOV is allowed to curve backward (concave in the anti-ram direction) by 8.5º at 55º cross-track in order to maintain straight entrance slits for the spectrometers. The mirrors are made with a glass which matches the thermal expansion of Titanium, are coated with an enhanced aluminum, and have an rms surface roughness of < 15Å.

- Each of the 2 spectrometers has a CCD detector array, a split column frame transfer CCD 340 x 740 (column x row) operated in a backside illuminated configuration. The pixel pitch is 20 µm in the column (spectral) dimension and 25 µm in the row (spatial) dimension and every pixel in both the active and storage regions contains a lateral overflow antiblooming structure integrated into a 4-phase CCD architecture.

- The OMPS nadir instrument has a mass of 12.5 kg and a size of 31 cm x 32 cm x 20 cm.

Polarization compensators are used to reduce polarization sensitivity for both Nadir instruments. Long-term calibration stability is monitored and corrected by periodic solar observations using a "Working" and "Reference" reflective diffuser system (similar to that successfully deployed on the TOMS sensors).

VIIRS will combine the radiometric accuracy of the AVHRR-3 (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer), which is currently flown on the NOAA polar orbiters with the high spatial resolution (0.56 km) of the OLS (Operational Linescan System) flown on DMSP. VIIRS will provide imagery of clouds under sunlit conditions in about a dozen bands, and will also provide coverage in a number of infrared bands for night and day cloud imaging applications.

VIIRS will have multi-band imaging capabilities to support the acquisition of high-resolution atmospheric imagery and generation of a variety of applied products, including visible and infrared imaging of hurricanes and detection of fires, smoke and atmospheric aerosols. VIIRS will also provide capabilities to produce higher-resolution and more accurate measurements of sea surface temperature than currently available from the heritage AVHRR-3 instrument on POES, as well as provide an operational capability for ocean-color observations and a variety of derived ocean-color products. The VIIRS instrument is developed by the Raytheon Company, El Segundo, CA. 94)

VIIRS is a multispectral (22-band) opto-mechanical radiometer, employing a cross-track rotating telescope fore-optics design (operating on the whiskbroom scanner principle), to cover a wide swath. The rotating telescope assembly (RTA of 20 cm diameter) concept of SeaWiFS heritage allows a low straylight performance. An observation scene is imaged onto three focal planes, separating the VNIR, SWIR/MWIR, and TIR energy - covering a spectral range of 0.4 - 12.5 µm. The VNIR FPA (Focal Plane Array) has nine spectral bands, the SWIR/MWIR FPA has eight spectral bands, and the TIR FPA four spectral bands. The integral DNB (Day Night Band) capability provides a very large dynamic range low-light capability in all VIIRS orbits. The detector line arrays [16 detectors in each array for the SWIR/MWIR and TIR bands, 32 detectors in the array for the VNIR and DNB (Pan) bands] of the whiskbroom scanner are oriented in the along-track direction. This arrangement provides a parallel coverage of 11.87 km along-track in one scan sweep (cross-track direction). The wide along-track coverage permits sufficient integration time for all cells in each scan sweep. One cross-track scan period of RTA is 1.786 s in length. The data quantization is 12 bits (14 bit A/C converters for lower noise).

Typical data products (types) of VIIRS include atmospheric, clouds, earth radiation budget, clear-air land/water surfaces, sea surface temperature, ocean color, and low-light visible imagery. A swath width of 3000 km is provided (corresponding to FOV=±55.84º) with a spatial resolution for imagery related products of no worse than 0.4 km to 0.8 km (nadir to edge-of-scan). The radiometric bands provide a resolution about twice in size to the imagery bands. Note: Most derived data products will be produced at somewhat coarser resolutions by aggregation of on-board data.

A total of 22 spectral bands have been selected as defined in Table 11. VIIRS features band-to-band registration for all bands (optical alignment of all FPAs). A total of three focal planes and four FPAs (Focal Plane Arrays) cover the spectral range of the instrument, one FPA for DNB (Day-Night Band), one for VNIR, SWIR/MWIR, and TIR. The DNB spectral range of 0.5-0.9 µm CCD detector features four light-sensitive areas (3 with TDI, one without) and near-objective sample spacing.

Calibration is performed with three on-board calibrators: a) a solar diffuser (SD) provides full aperture solar calibration, b) a solar diffuser stability monitor, and c) a blackbody. Instrument calibration of VIIRS is based on that of the MODIS instrument: 104)105)106)

• VNIR: 1) View of a spectralon plate at the poles every few days; 2) Deep space view

• SST (Sea Surface Temperature). VIIRS is capable to provide a nadir resolution of 750 m (by aggregating detectors 3:l in-track near nadir, 2:l in-track aggregation out to a 2,000 swath, and 1:1 out to 3,000 km) to simultaneously optimize spatial resolution and noise performance. - The SST solution combines the traditional long-wave infrared (LWIR) split window with a second split window in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) for a globally robust SST algorithm. The MWIR split window has a higher transmissivity than the traditional LWIR split window for improved atmospheric correction. The low-noise design is operable day and night with 0.25 K precision, and 0.35 K total measurement uncertainty (rms error).

• Imagery and cloud detection/typing. The imagery solution provided on VIIRS includes six high-resolution bands and an additional 16 moderate-resolution bands. One of these, a reflective panchromatic band (DNB), is operable in low-light conditions down to a quarter moon. A swath with of 3000 km is provided.

• Soil moisture. A VIIRS/CMIS data fusion solution was derived. The approach combines the fine spatial resolution of VIIRS with traditional coarser-resolution microwave-derived soil moisture retrievals to achieve excellent results over both open and partially vegetated scenes. The estimation procedure involves two steps: 1) CMIS estimates soil moisture at coarse spatial resolution. This involves inversion of dual-polarized microwave brightness temperatures. 2) CMIS-derived low-resolution soil moisture is linked to the scene optical parameters, such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), surface albedo, and LST (Land Surface Temperature). The linkage of the microwave-derived soil moisture to NDVI, surface albedo and LST is based on the "Universal Triangle" approach of relating land surface parameters. The three high-resolution optical parameters are aggregated to microwave resolution for the purpose of building the linkage model. The linkage model, in conjunction with high-resolution NDVI, surface albedo, and LST, is then used to disaggregate microwave soil moisture into high-resolution soil moisture.

VIIRS will collect radiometric and imagery data in 22 spectral bands within the visible and infrared region ranging from 0.4 to 12.5 µm. These data are calibrated and geolocated in ground processing to generate SDRs (Sensor Data Records) that are equivalent to NASA Level 1B products. The VIIRS SDRs in turn will be used to generate 22 EDRs (Environmental Data Records) including two KPPs (Key Performance Parameters): SST (Sea Surface Temperature) and Imagery. Since the quality of these EDRs depends upon the quality of the underlying SDRs, adequate SDR quality is crucial to JPSS mission success. 108)109)

DNB (Day Night Band) overview in VIIRS:

The DNB will measure VIS radiances from the Earth and atmosphere (solar/lunar reflection and both natural and anthropogenic nighttime light emissions) during both day and night portions of the orbit. In comparison to the OLS (Operational Linescan System) of the DMSP series, some of the DNB channel improvements include 1) reduced instances of pixel saturation, 2) a smaller IFOV, leading to reduced spatial blurring, 3) superior calibration and radiometric resolution, 4) collocation with multispectral measurements on VIIRS and other NPOESS sensors, 5) and generally increased spatial resolution and elimination of cross-track pixel size variation. 110)

The DNB is implemented as a dedicated focal plane assembly (FPA) that shares the optics and scan mechanism of the other VIIRS spectral bands. This integral design approach offers lower overall system complexity, cost, mass, and volume compared to a separate DNB sensor. Unlike the OLS, the DNB will feature radiometric calibration, with accuracy comparable to the other VIIRS spectral bands.

To achieve satisfactory radiometric resolution across the large dynamic range (seven orders of magnitude) of day/night radiances encountered over a single orbit, the DNB selects its amplification gain dynamically from three simultaneously collecting stages (groups of detectors residing upon the same FPA). The stages detect low-, medium-, and high-radiance scenes with relative radiometric gains of 119,000:477:1 (high:medium:low gain). Each of the three stages covers a radiance range of more than 500:1, so that the three together cover the entire required radiance range with generous overlap. Two identical copies of the high-gain stage are provided, which improves the SNR at very low signal levels and allows for the correction of pixels impacted by high-energy subatomic particles. The scene is scanned sequentially such that each scene is imaged by all three gains virtually simultaneously.

The signals from all gain stages are always digitized, using 14 bits for the high-gain stage and 13 bits for the medium- and low-gain stages. This fine digitization assures the DNB will have a sufficiently fine radiometric resolution across the entire dynamic range. Logic in the VIIRS Electronics Module (EM) then selects, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, the most appropriate of the three stages to be transmitted to Earth. In general, the VIIRS EM logic chooses the most sensitive stage in which the pixel is not saturated. This imaging strategy produces nonsaturated calibrated radiances in bright areas, and data with a lower dynamic range in the darkest areas with less SNR and radiometric accuracy.

In summary, the VIIRS DNB feature will bring significant advances to operational and research applications at night (over OLS operations) due to the increased sensitivity of the instrument.

VIIRS features 15 reflective solar bands (RSB) in the range of 0.4-2.25 µm. The reflective bands use sunlight reflected from a SD (Solar Diffuser) after passing through an attenuating SDS (Solar Diffuser Screen) as a reference illumination source. The RSB calibration is currently performed by offline trending of calibration scale factors derived from the SD and SV (Space View) observations. These calibration scale factors are used to periodically update LUT (Look-Up Tables) used by the ground processing to generate the calibrated earth radiance and reflectance in the Sensor Data Records (SDR).

RSB calibration data is acquired once per orbit when sunlight incident on the SD uniformly illuminates the VIIRS detectors, providing a large and calculable reference radiance level. The calibration scale factor is the ratio of the calculated SD radiance at the entrance aperture to the SD radiance measured by the instrument using calibration coefficients derived from the pre-launch calibration. The calibration scale factor in effect measures the change in instrument "gain" as the instrument ages on orbit relative to the gain measured during pre-launch instrument response characterization.

VIIRS has 7 thermal emissive bands use an OBC-BB (On-Board Calibrator Blackbody) maintained at a constant elevated temperature as a reference illumination source. The 7 emissive bands are centered at 3.74, 11.45, 3.75, 4.05, 8.55, 10.76, and 12.01 µm. The two emissive image bands are mainly for cloud imagery and precise geolocation. The 5 moderate-resolution emissive bands are used to determine surface temperature and cloud top pressure. The only dual gain band TEB M13 is used for determining surface temperature at low radiance, and fire detection at high radiance.

The VIIRS emissive band calibration concept is a common two-point calibration by viewing onboard blackbody and cold space. However, the VIIRS emissive band calibration algorithm is more complicated than other sensors such as AVHRR and MODIS, because of the instrument response verses the scan angle. The TEBs (Thermal Emissive Bands) are calibrated using OBC-BB that has been carefully characterized in prelaunch activities. The OBC-BB emissivity is estimated to be 0.99609-0.99763 for the TEB bands based on prelaunch testing in the thermal vacuum chamber. The OBC-BB temperature is carefully controlled using heater elements and thermistors. The calibration algorithm, based on measured BB temperature and emissivity, computes radiances and compares it with counts to determine gain adjustments.

VIIRS significantly outperforms the legacy AVHRR in spatial, spectral, and radiometric accuracy. Early assessment of the VIIRS TEB calibration shows the sensor is stable and exceeds the specification. The onboard calibration accuracy for NEdT compares very favorably with pre-launch thermal vacuum tests. Consistency tests among VIIRS, MODIS, AVHRR, and CrIS further confirm the stability and accuracy of the VIIRS TEB.

JPSS Common Ground System (CGS):

In September 2010, the Raytheon Company was awarded a contract by NASA on behalf of NOAA for the development of JPSS-1 (Joint Polar Satellite System-1). The award of the JPSS Common Ground System enables uninterrupted support to meet both civilian and defense weather needs. It allows Raytheon to continue the development and evolution of the ground system into an exceptional operational program for JPSS and DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program). 114)115)116)

The main elements of the JPSS common ground system for NOAA and DoD – currently comprises:

• C3S (Command, Control and Communications Segment)

- Includes mission planning, enterprise management, antenna resource scheduling, satellite operations, data relay and spacecraft and instrument engineering. A key feature of the C3S is the 15 unmanned global ground stations that receive JPSS and DWSS mission data, termed the DRN (Distributed Receptor Network). The receptors, linked with high-bandwidth commercial fiber, can quickly transport the data to four U.S. data processing centers. Most data will ultimately be completely processed and delivered to the Weather Centrals in less than 30 minutes from the time of collection.

• IDPS (Interface Data Processing Segment). The IDPS features high-speed, symmetric, multi-processing computers that will rapidly convert large streams of JPSS and DWSS sensor data that are 100 times the volume of legacy data, providing numerous EDRs (Environmental Data Records) at four weather Centrals in the United States. These vital EDRs range from atmospheric to land and ocean surface products. The EDRs detail cloud coverage, temperature, humidity and ozone distribution, as well as snow cover, vegetation, sea surface temperatures, aerosols, space environment and earth radiation budget information. This wealth of information enables numerous users to monitor and predict changes in weather, climate, and ocean conditions. JPSS and DWSS products will also be available to the scientific community to expand our knowledge of the environment.

• FTS (Field Terminal Segment). The FTS, equipped with specially configured IDPS software, will permit worldwide fixed and mobile field terminals deployed aboard ships, at military bases, in theaters of operation, and at educational and scientific institutions to receive and process the continuous broadcasts of JPSS and DWSS sensed data as the satellites pass overhead.

On January 17, 2014, Raytheon successfully completed the Block 2 CDR (Critical Design Review), confirming readiness to support the JPSS-1 satellite. Block 2 represents a complete architectural and technological refresh of JPSS CGS and a significant step in supporting the next generation of the program. 117)

US Partnerships in JPSS program:

• EUMETSAT

- EUMETSAT provides mid-morning orbit

- Both support planning and operations (e.g., Antarctic Data Acquisition)

Since being deployed for NOAA's Suomi-NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) in 2011, JPSS CGS, one of the few multi-mission ground solutions, is now providing unprecedented global observation capability. Leveraging a common ground system across national and international agencies is the most efficient and cost effective way to improve global environmental observational capabilities. 118)

By leveraging a flexible architecture and integrating new and legacy technologies, the JPSS CGS reduces development and sustainment costs and has proven it can be quickly adapted to a variety of mission needs spanning civil, military and scientific communities.

In addition to supporting NOAA's Suomi-NPP and the GCOM-W1 mission of JAXA, other JPSS CGS support includes the MetOp series of EUMETSAT (European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) and DoD's DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) series.

• The JPSS Ground System (GS) is a complex, globally operated environmental satellite control, data retrieval, data processing, and environmental data product distribution system. Items of complexity include a large number of:

- takeholders

- project processes

- relationships with development contractors, and

- architectural modernization.

• The JPSS Ground Project (GP) uses the DoDAF 2.0 (Department of Defense Architecture Framework version 2.0) to manage and coordinate the GS development by identifying:

- JPSS GS organizational structure and performers;

- actions performed by the organizational entities;

- information that must flow among the entities; the systems, functions, and actions that enable realization of the JPSS capabilities; and,

- information and data exchanged among performers and systems.

• This focus on is on the processes for providing the SDRs (Sensor Data Records) and EDRs (Environmental Data Records) that are reduced from the satellite data and distributed to the program customers.

- A global view of the JPSS GS architecture is given in the following reference. 120)

• Identifying and managing all levels of product dependencies to ensure product performance has been a challenge.

- Previous attempts to capture have quickly fallen out of date as the massive data flow and algorithm architecture evolved.

- Flight system Cal/Val is scheduled to span months of data capture, reduction, analysis and adjustment.

• The application of DoDAF 2/UPDM 2 has provided a mechanism to capture and manage this complex data processing architecture. Traces algorithm and data back to L1/L2 weather/climate performance metrics.

• The tool automatically manages dependencies which used to be managed by engineering/scientific analysis.

• The application of DoDAF 2/UPDM 2 will lead to a more structured process at significantly reduced resource costs, enabling more efficient and faster evolution and progress.

The information compiled and edited in this article was provided by Herbert J. Kramer from his documentation of: "Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors" (Springer Verlag) as well as many other sources after the publication of the 4th edition in 2002. - Comments and corrections to this article are always welcome for further updates (herb.kramer@gmx.net).